Kobe Bryant Was Almost Traded To Dallas In 2007

Kobe Bryant was almost traded to Dallas in 2007.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: Dirk and Kobe on the same team in their prime spells championship.

Mark Cuban admitted this week just how close he was to landing Kobe Bryant back in 2007. It’s hard to remember, but back in 2007 Kobe wanted out of Los Angeles bad and almost landed with the Mavs. It’s hard to imagine, but if this deal had gone through this would have changed the NBA landscape possibly more than any deal in the last 20 years.

“When I was doing Dancing with the Stars, I was taking breaks because I was talking to Kobe’s agent because Kobe wanted to get traded,” Cuban explained on the Ben and Skin Show on 103.3 KESN-FM. “Literally, between Dancing with the Stars practices I had thought we traded for Kobe Bryant. I even talked to their owner and thought we were going to have done deal, and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak changed Kobe’s mind and brought him back.”

Cuban has had some rough times as owner of the Mavs, from almost landing Kobe to Lamar Odom’s infamous year in Dallas. Cuban is always willing to do what it takes to improve his team and that often means taking some lumps too.

One thing Cuban wanted to make clear though was that he wasn’t a Kobe for Dirk deal. Dirk was never on the table in trade-talks which means the Mavs would have been working with Kobe and Dirk both in their primes if the deal had gone through. Unfortunately for Dallas fans the Lakers talked Kobe into staying in the City of Angels and the rest as they say is NBA history. Yet, just for a second imagine how different LA and Dallas’ histories would be if in 2007 LA hadn’t wooed him back.